Splitting machine



Aug. 31, 1937. E. A. HOLMGREN SPLITTING MACHINE I Filed Dec. 30, 1935 2Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Aug. 31, 1937 UNi'lED STATES isti PATENT creme2,091,363 SPLITTING MAoiiINE Application December 30, 1935, Serial No.56,652

11 Claims.

This invention relates to splitting machines and is herein illustratedas embodied in a machine for dividing a sole blank into a skeletoninsole forepart having in it an opening, and an outsole having in itsforepart a projection which is the counterpart of said opening. a

In the manufacture of a certain type of shoe, it is desirable to split asole-shaped blank into the two articles named above. After this has beendone a shank piece is attached to the skeleton insole forepart toprovide an insole which is then used, together with an outsole of thekind described, in the manufacture of a shoe. In order to accomplish thesplitting or dividing opation rapidly and accurately, it is desirable tomake use of a splitting machine one of the rolls of which is a matrixroll.

According to one feature of the invention, the rolls are so constructedand operated that they come to rest with a gap between them throughwhich the forward portion of a sole blank which is to be split is thrustto present it to the machine, the rolls when rotated feeding the blankout of the machine past a knife the cut of which begins at a localityspaced from the heel end of the blank, for example in the forward partof the shank portion of the blank, and extends through the toe endthereof, a pair of separable gages being provided which are preferablyheld apart until after a blank has beenthrust between them and are thenclosed upon the edges of the blank.

This and other features of the invention including certain details ofconstruction and com- 35 binations of parts will be described asembodied in an illustrated machine and pointed out in the.

appended claims.

Referring to the acccompanying drawings, Fig. 1 is an end elevation ofthe machine in which the present invention is embodied;

Fig. 2 is a perspective showing a piece of work which has been operatedupon by the machine;

Fig. 3 is a vertical cross-section of the machine through the matrix andpatrix rolls;

Fig. 4 is a perspective showing more particularly the construction andmounting of the ball-line gages;

Fig. 5 is a longitudinal cross-section of the matrix and patrix rollsshowing a piece of work in process of being split; 7

Fig. 6 is a transverse cross-section of the members shown in Fig. 5, therolls being in a different position.

The purpose of the machine, as has been ex plained, is to divide a soleblank, as shown in Fig.

2, into a skeleton insole forepart it having an opening 200, and anoutsole 3E8 havingin its forepart a projection 498 which is thecounterpart of the opening. In the manufacture of a shoe a shank pieceis attached to the skeleton insole forepart to produce a completeinsole. This insole is assembled, together with an upper, upon a lastgthe margin of the upper is lasted over uponthe insole, and the outsoleis attached, for example by cement, with the projection 189 extendinginto the opening 20!]. h

The work-engaging members for operating upon a sole blank to produce thetwo members shown in Fig. 2 comprise (Figs. 4 and 6) a matrix roll 9, apatrix roll II and a stationary knife 13. The matrix roll is cut away toprovide a flat face I5; and, when the rolls come to rest after havingmade one revolution, this flat face is opposite to the patrix roll sothat there is a gap between the rolls. The sole blank is presented tothe machine (Fig. fl) by being thrust toe foremost through the gap (andbetween certain gages presently to be described) until its toe endcontacts with a toe-- end gage l1. Thereup o'n power is applied to themachine to cause the rolls to rotate as indicated by the arrows and tocause the It'oe-end gage l! to push the sole blank toward the rolls. Assoon as the rolls have gripped the blank firmly, the toe-end gage iswithdrawn, and the rolls feed the sole blank to the knife and finallyout of the machine, the cut of the knife starting for example at theline 19 (Fig. 2), located at about the junction of the shank portionwith the forepart, and continuing through the toe end of the blank. Atthe proper time in this dividing or splitting operation, the blank isdistorted (Fig. 5) by the cooperative action of the matrix 21 and thepatrix 23 to produce the opening 253B (Fig. 2) in the insole forepartand the corresponding projection 400 on the forepart of the outsole. Themachine has two pairs of matrices and patricesalthough Only one pair hasbeen shownand is thus capable' 'of operating upon two sole blanks at thesame time,

Except for the shapes of the rolls, and the construction and mode ofoperation of certain gages, the machine is or may be substantially thesame as the machine disclosed in UnitedStates Letters Patent No,1,382,689, granted June 28, 1921, on an application filed in the name ofWilliam C. Stewart; and before proceeding to a detailed description ofthe new features, the old construction will be briefly indicated. Thebearings of the upper or matrix roll are vertically slidable inguideways in the frame, are urged upward by springs and may be moveddownward to adjust the matrix roll in proper position above the lower orpatrix roll to provide for blanks of different thicknesses. The matrixroll comprises a removable and replaceable outer sleeve in which thematrices are out, said sleeve being connected with its shaft 23 in suchmanner that it may be caused to rotate exactly with the shaft or it maybe accelerated during an interval during the rotation of its shaft. Thepurpose of this construction is to avoid the necessity of providing alarge number of different matrices. The matrices are shaped foroperation upon sole blanks of the largest size; and, in order to shortenthe lengths of the opening 200 and the projection 40!], the matrixsleeve is accelerated relatively to the rate of rotation of the patrixroll. When the matrix sleeve is accelerated, it slips upon the blank andcompletes its revolution before the revolution of the patrix roll iscompleted; and, in order to I stop the matrix sleeve in a properposition of rest to receive another sole blank, its movement is arrestedafter it has made a complete revolution, and the patrix roll continuesto rotate until that roll has completed a revolution. In the patentedmachine the lower roll is a toothed roll and has no patrix. In themachine of the present application the patrix is made relatively smallto permit this slipping of the matrix roll on the work. The bearings ofthe patrix roll are normally held up against stops by heavy springs, oneof which is shown at 25, and the stationary knife I3 is mounted on theframe of the machine with its edge close to the bite of the rolls. Thetoe-end gage ll and certain side or edge gages, later to be described,are mounted on a horizontally reciprocating carriage 21 actuated byparallel links 29, said carriage coming to rest in its position mostremote from the rolls.

Assuming that the machine is at rest, the operator thrusts two soleblanks toe ends foremost between the respective pairs of matrices andpatrices until the sole blanks contact with the toe-end gages I1 anddepresses a treadle 3| (Fig.

1' 1) whereupon the rolls start rotating and the carriage 27 starts tomove toward the rolls. As soon as the rolls have obtained a firm grip onthe sole blanks, the carriage moves back away from the rolls. The rollsthen feed the sole blanks past the knife I3 to divide the blank into theskeleton insole forepart Hill and the complementary outsole 300 shown inFig. 2.

The patented machine has end gages corresponding to the end gages I1 andtwo pairs of side or edge gages corresponding to the gages 33, 34 (Figs.3 and 4). In the patented machine, however, the sole blanks arepresented heel ends foremost, the gages which correspond to the endgages ll engaging the heel ends of the soles, and the side or edge gageswhich correspond to the gages 33, 34 engaging opposite edges of thesoles at about the heel breast lines. The gages 33, 34 of the presentmachine will be termed tip-line gages, since they engage opposite edgesof the sole blank at about the line of attachment of the tip in thefinished shoe. These tip-line gages, as well as the toe-end gages, areconstructed and mounted like the corresponding gages of the patentedmachine. Referring to Fig. 3, which shows one member of one pair oftip-line gages, the gage 33 is carried at the outer end of the long armof a bell-crank lever 35 pivoted about the stem of a screw 3'! which isthreaded into the reciprocating carriage 21. The short arm of thebell-crank lever 35 has formed in its outer end, a

segmental gear 39 which meshes with a similar segmental gear carried atthe outer end of the short arm of the other bell-crank lever (not shown)at the outer end of the long arm of which the other tip-line gage 3d ofthe pair is carried. A tension spring il, fast at one end to a pin 63,driven into the carriage 21, and at the other end to one of the shortarms of the bell-crank levers, tends at all times to move the gagestoward each other as far as a stop (not shown) will permit. These gagesare thrust apart as shown in Fig. 4 when a sole blank is presented tothe machine. No further description of the machine as thus far outlinedwill be given, reference being made to the patent for further details.It may be noted, however, that the matrices of the patented machine areshaped to cause the knife to skive the shanks of soles.

In order to coperate with the toe-end gages, one of which is shown atIll, and the tip-line gages, one pair of which is shown at in locatingsole blanks in position to be received properly by the rolls 9, ll,there are provided two pairs of gages which will be termed ball-linegages, since they engage opposite edges of the sole blanks at about theball lines of said blanks. One pair of these ball-line gages is shown(Fig. 4) at 55, ll; and since the two pairs are alike, only one pairwill be described in detail. The ball-line gage 45 is pivoted at 59 tothe lower end of the long upright arm of a bell-crank lever 5!, theshort horizontal arm of which terminates in a segmental gear 53, thebell-crank lever 5i being pivoted at 55 to a bar El which is fastened bycap screws 553 to a part of the frame of the machine extending over therolls 9, I l The gage 45 has a tail or projecting portion M5 which ispivoted at 5! to the lower end of a link the upper end of which ispivoted at t5 to a stationary bar 64. The distance between the axes ofthe pivots 55, is equal to the distance between the axes of the pivots49 and 6! so that a parallel motion is imparted to the gage '35 when thebel1- crank lever 5| is swung. The other gage ll of the pair is carriedin the same manner at the lower end of the long upright arm of abell-crank lever 61 pivoted to the bar 5? at 59; and a link H like thelink 63 is pivoted at its upper end to the bar 64 and at its lower endto a tail or projection on the gage 41. The short horizontal arm of thebell-crank lever El terminates in a segmental gear 13 which meshes withthe segmental gear 53. The gages d5, 41 are at all times urged to movetoward each other by a tension spring 15, which connects them, as far asa stop screw ll (Figs. 1 and 3) will permit, said stop screw beingthreaded through a lug or bracket on the bar 51 and being adapted tocontact with the upper edge of the short horizontal arm of thebell-crank lever 5|. The ball-line gages a5, a!

are thus mounted for parallel motion and are normally spaced apart adistance less than the width at the ball line of the smallest sole blankto be operated upon. The machine may be used with the mechanism thus fardescribed, in which case the forward end of a sole blank when it isstarted. To this end a short arm 19 fast to 'a rockshaft 8| is caused toengage the short arm of the bell-crank lever and swing it down about itspivot 55, thereby causing the long upright .5 arms of the bell-cranklevers 5|, 6'! to swing equally away from each other. The rockshaft Biis rotatably mounted in bearings rigid with the frame of the machine andhas attached to it the hub of an operating arm 83 to the outer end .10c-f which is pivoted at 85 the upper end of a rod 8'5. The lower end ofthis rod (Fig. 1) is pivoted at 89 to the same pivot to which is pivotedthe upper end of a treadle rod 9! downward movement of which starts themachine. The lower 5 end of the treadle rod 9| is pivoted at 93 to theouter end of an arm 95 the hub of which is fast to a rockshaft 91rotatable in bearings in the frame of the machine. Also fast to thisrock shaft is the hub of the treadle 3|, said treadle being normallyheld up by a tension spring ml attached at its lower end to the treadleand at its upper end to the frame of the machine. When the machine comesto rest, the treadle 3! is in raised position and the arm 19 is holdingthe ballline gages apart. When the treadle is depressed, the arm 19 isswung up to release the ball-line gages, and power is applied to themachine, whereupon, as has been explained, the carriage 2i feeds thesole blank until it is gripped by the rolls which then feed'it past theknife. It will be understood that there is mounted upon'the rockshaft 88another arm corresponding to the arm 19 which acts to hold the otherpair of ballline gages open when the machine comes to rest. Assumingthat the machine is at rest with the rolls 9, H in such position thatthe-re is a gap between them, with the carriage 2'! in its position mostremote from the rolls and with the ballline gages. and 4! held widelyspaced apart, 40 the operator presents two sole blanksto the machine.Inasmuch as these twosole blanks are presented to the machine andoperated upon in the same manner, the presentation of one blank and theoperation upon it will be described. The ,45 Sole blank is thrustbetween the gap in the rolls in the manner indicated in Fig. 4, the toeend of the blank forcing apart the tip-line gages 33, 3 and contactingwith the toe-end gage If. The operator now depresses the treadle 3!, .50whereupon the ball-line gages 45, 41 close upon the sole blank to alineit properly with the matrix in the roll, the carriage 2'! begins itsforward movement, and the rolls begin to rotate in the directionindicated by the arrows. As soon as the sole blank has been firmlygripped by the rolls, the carriage 21 is withdrawn and the blank is fedpast the knife 13 to produce the result shown in Fig. 2. In order toensure that the blank shall be fed completely past the edge of (so theknife, a pusher in the form of a small blade I03 (Fig. 6) carried by thematrix roll engages the toe end of the blank near the end of thesplitting operation. If the mechanism for holding the ball-line gagesapart when the machine 65 is at rest is not present, the sole blankforces these gages apart when it is thrust between them. Although theinvention has been set forth as embodied in a particular machine, itshould be understood that the invention is not limited in 70 the scopeof its application to the particular machine which has been shown anddescribed. It should also be understood that although the insoleforepart I00 has been shown with an opening 280 which extends throughit, this opening 75 may extend only part way through if desired.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A machine for splitting a blank having, in combination, a pair ofrolls having when at rest a gap between them through which the blank maybe thrust in one direction, a knife past which the blank is fed in theother direction when the rolls are rotated, a pair of separable gageslocatedon the opposite side of the rolls from the knife and adapted toreceive the blank between them, a member acting when the machine is atrest to hold the gages in separated relation, and operator-controlledmeans for causing the gages to close upon the blank.

2. A machine. for splitting a blank having, in combination, a pair ofrolls. having when at rest a gap between them through which the blankmay be thrust in one direction, a knife past Which the blank is fed inthe other direction when the rolls are rotated, a pair of separablegages located on the opposite side of the rolls from the knife andadapted to receive the blank between them, a member acting when themachine is at rest to hold the gages in separated re lation, a treadlemanipulation of which starts the machine, and connections between thetreadle and the member for causing the gages to close upon the blankwhen the treadle is manipulated.

3. A machine for splitting a blank having, in combination, a pair ofrolls having when at rest a gap between them through which the blank maybe thrust in one direction, a knife past which the rolls when rotatedfeed the blank in the other direction, a pair of separable gages locatedon the opposite side of the rolls from the knife and adapted to receivethe blank between them, yielding means urging the gages to- Ward eachother, a member acting normally to hold the gages in separated relation,and operator-controlled means for moving the member to release the gagesafter the blank has been thrust between them.

4. A machine for splitting a blank having, in combination, a pair ofrolls having when at rest a gap between them through which the blank maybe thrust in one direction, a knife past which the rolls when rotatedfeed the blank in the other direction, a pair of separable gages locatedon the opposite side of the rolls from the knife and adapted to receivethe blank between the-m, yielding means urging the gages toward eachother, a member acting normally to hold the gages in separated relation,a treadle manipulation of which starts the machine, and connectionsbetween the treadle and the member for releasing the gages when thetreadle is manipulated.

5. A machine for splitting a sole blank hav ing, in combination, a pairof rolls having when at rest a gap between them through which the soleblank may be thrust in one direction, a knife past which the rolls whenrotated feed the blank in the opposite direction, a stationary memberlocated above the rolls, and a pair of separable ball-line gagessuspended from the member in position to receive between them theball-line of a sole blank thrust through the gap between the rolls.

6. A machine for splitting a sole blank having, in combination, a pairof rolls having when at rest a gap between them through which the soleblank may be thrust in one direction, a knife past which the rolls whenrotated feed the blank in the opposite direction, a stationary memberlocated above the rolls, a pair of separable ballline gages suspendedfrom the member in position to receive between them the ball line of a 5sole blank thrust through the gap between the rolls, means for holdingthe gages in separated relation when the machine is at rest, and meansoperated when the machine is started to cause the gages to close on theblank.

7. A machine for splitting a sole blank having, in combination, a pairof rolls having when at rest a gap between them through which the soleblank may be thrust in one direction, a knife past which the rolls whenrotated feed the blank in the opposite direction, a stationary memberlocated above the rolls, a pair of separable ballline gages suspendedfrom the member in position to receive between them the ball line of asole blank thrust through the gap between the rolls, a rockshaithavingan arm for controlling the relative positions of the gages, means forholding the rockshaftwhen the machine is at rest in an angular positionto maintain the gages in separated relation, and operator-controlledmeans for causing the gages to close upon opposite edges of the blank.

8. A machine for splitting a sole blank having, in combination, a pairof rolls having when at rest a gap between them through which the soleblank may be thrust in one direction, a knife past which the rolls whenrotated feed the blank in the opposite direction, a stationary memberlocated above the rolls, a pair of separable ballline gages suspendedfrom the member in position to receive between them the ball line of asole blank thrust through the gap between the rolls, a rockshaft havingan arm for controlling the relative positions of the gages, means forholding the rockshaft when the machine is at in an angular position tomaintain the gages in separated relation, and means operated when themachine is started to cause the gages to close on the blank.

9. A machine for splitting a sole blank into an insole forepart havingan opening therein and an outsole having in its forepart a projectionwhich is the counterpart of said opening having, in combination, a pairof rolls a portion of the periphery of one of which is cut away,

means for rotating the rolls and for bringing them to rest with thecut-away portion opposite to the other roll so that there is a gapbetween the rolls, a knife past which the blank is fed by the rolls, atoe-end gage and separable tip-line gages located on the opposite sideof the rolls from the knife in position to be engaged by a sole blankthrust through the gap between the rolls, separable ball-line gageslocated between the tip-line gages and the rolls, yielding means urgingthe ball-line gages toward each other, a member acting to hold theball-line gages in separated relation when the machine is at rest, andoperator-controlled means for moving the member to release the ball-linegages and permit them to close upon the sole blank.

10. A machine for splitting a sole blank into an insole forepart havingan opening therein and an outsole having in its. forepart a projectionwhich is the counterpart of said opening having, in combination, a pairof rolls a portion of the periphery of one of which is cut away, meansfor rotating the rolls and for bringing them to rest with the cut-awayportion opposite to the other roll so that there is a gap between therolls, a knife past which the blank is fed by the rolls, a toe-end gageand separable tip-line gages located on the opposite side of the rollsfrom the knife in position to be engaged by a sole blank thrust throughthe gap between the rolls, separable ball-line gages located between thetip-line gages and the rolls, and yielding means urging the ball-linegages toward each other.

11. A machine for splitting a sole blank into an insole forepart havingan opening therein and an outsole having in its fo'repart a projectionwhich is the counterpart of said opening having, in combination, a pairof rolls a portion of the periphery of one of which is cut away, meansfor rotating the rolls and for bringing them to rest with the cut-awayportion opposite to the other roll 50 that there is a gap between therolls, a knife past which the blank is led by the rolls, a toe-end gageand separable tip-line gages located on the opposite side of the rollsfrom the knife in position to be engaged by a sole blank thrust throughthe gap between the rolls, separable ball-line gages located between thetip-line gages and the rolls, yielding means urging the ball line gagestoward each other, a member acting to hold the ball-line gages inseparated relation when the machine is at rest, a treadle forcontrolling the operation of the machine, and connections between thetreadle and the member for moving the member to release the ball-linegages and permit them to close upon the sole blank when the treadle ismanipulated.

ERIC A. HOLMGREN.

I I CERTIFICATE or CORRECTION. Patent No, 2,091,565. August 51, 1957.

7 ERIC A HOLMGREN.

It is hereby certified that error appears in the printed specification.of the above numbered patent requiring correction as follows: Page .1.,second column, line 59, claim 11', for the Word 1ed" read fed; and thatthe said Letters Patent should be read with this correction therein thatthe seme may conform to the record of the case in thePatent Office.Signed and sealed this 18th (lay of January, A. D. 19 8.

Henry VanArsda le, I (Seal) Acting; Commissioner of Patents.

